slinky Posted January 12, 2005 Share Posted January 12, 2005 what is the smallest size fish i can put with a adult dimi. slinky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canerod Posted January 12, 2005 Share Posted January 12, 2005 Probably one that wont fit in your dimi's mouth Dimis are a predator so I would think that most fish that are smaller than he is would be at some risk, and fish that he cant swallow but thinks he can put him at some risk of choking on his intended lunch, I had a juvi peacock choke to death on a juvi siamese fighter recently and have heard of other similar cases. The best bet would be to put similar size fish together. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catcher Posted January 12, 2005 Share Posted January 12, 2005 Hey Slinky, Just as Bob said, and in my experience if it fits in their mouth or they think it will, they will eat it. glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dobbin4 Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 Any thing small will do. Cause dimi's will just hunt it down and have its fill then the ones that are left will tell u whats big enough to keep them company.Man u need to buy a book or 3, or the local library would help.Don't take this the wrong way!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViS Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 Dimi comps do best in a species only tank. I have one male and 12 females in a 6x2, and I've never had an aggression problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lv426 Posted January 16, 2005 Share Posted January 16, 2005 Man u need to buy a book or 3, or the local library would help.Don't take this the wrong way!!!!!!!!!! Why dont you answer his question instead? To you it may have seemed like a stupid question but if you think about it for a moment you will realise it is not really. At 25cm an adult D.compressiceps is fully grown. He is merely asking what size do we think would be the smallest size fish to mix it with. IMO I would say nothing less than 2/3 this size. Depends on what type of fish though. The closer you can match the size the better in the long run. Compatibility Predatory towards small fishes. Combine with other open-water Malawi species which are not too aggressive, such as Copadochromis and Aulonocara. (source thetropicaltank). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinky Posted January 16, 2005 Author Share Posted January 16, 2005 thanks for all the helpful replies people. i can always depend on u guys/gals. also i ended up getting heaps dimis with a size range of 8-11cm and its in a tank with a sartoga jardini tat is at least 6cm. i would like to know am i pushing it. its been a day and they seem to be fine but the dimis keep eyeing the jardini. i then chuck in a large male boisterious zebra and hongi to distract the dimis, would tat help at all (its sorta seems to beworking). also for the guys who told me to get books , i do have some books, but i prefer other aquarist own personal experience with the species. as always, thanku slinky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lv426 Posted January 16, 2005 Share Posted January 16, 2005 What size tank are all these fish kept in? I wouldnt worry too much about the jardini. Then again at that size Sara's cant really defend themselves yet and if your Compressiceps form a 'pack' then maybe they will have a go. It's a risk to mix everyone together. Can you give more details about your set up then maybw we can comment further Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gav Posted January 16, 2005 Share Posted January 16, 2005 I think the best image I have seen on a dimi comp was this one dimi comp Its not my pic so I can't hot link it, but its a fantastic photo of what a dimi can do. from memory that was a 7cm brichardi in its mouth. its fixem's picture, saw it originally in a post he had in the photo forum in other words, be very careful of what you mix with them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinky Posted January 17, 2005 Author Share Posted January 17, 2005 its a 5ft and i am going to remove excess males dimis from the tank when they colour up, i was worried about the dimi forming a pack so added some mbunas to cause a stir, which they are doing. also the dimis are not eating, so im worried they might get hungry enough and attempt to eat the jardini. i chuck in heaps off dimi to distract the jardini when it gets older, so tat it doesnt target one fish and thus spreading theaggression around. i know im breaking heaps of rules keeping these fishes together, but u gotta see it they look heaps good together. any help would be appreciated. slinky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lv426 Posted January 17, 2005 Share Posted January 17, 2005 i chuck in heaps off dimi to distract the jardini when it gets older, so tat it doesnt target one fish and thus spreading theaggression around. Unfortunately I dont believe it works this way You should not attempt to add more fish to curb aggression... it prob wont work. You should try to decide what and how many you want to keep in that tank soon. IMO you risk more violence by 'upsetting the balance'. Generally I have found that fish that grow up together are more likely to get along later. Im aware that this is a generalisation and that you cant as an example mix a large American with a smaller African. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinky Posted January 17, 2005 Author Share Posted January 17, 2005 if things start getting rough ill probably remove the jardini. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeW Posted January 17, 2005 Share Posted January 17, 2005 Slinky - Have you kept many cichlids before? D. compressiceps certainly isnt a beginners cichlid (they have a tendancy to be nice one second and ripping the brains out (literally, sometimes) of another fish the next). If your jardini's much bigger than the dimi's you're dimis will get et. I'd second Andy's advise - species tanks only (unless you're really sure what you are doing). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Salita Posted January 17, 2005 Share Posted January 17, 2005 could be a waste of a good toga Slinky. I agree with yew, dimis' can be unpredictable. The photo in this post should prove that. My guess is that brichardi wasnt a recent addition, and gave dimi a bit much attitude one day. Or in a few months your toga will get sick of the dimi's attitude. Which will be a waste of dimi's. You may not get a chance to keep an eye on them when the time comes. Toga's can do serious damage to almost ANY fish in a very short time when they mature. They have been known to kill all sorts of meaner, larger fish than a dimi. Just trying to help. I'd hate to see it end up in tears. Cheers, Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinky Posted January 17, 2005 Author Share Posted January 17, 2005 LOL........i can be a blonde sometimes(im a guy). i guess i have to save up more money to buy another tank. cause i really like the dimis and my jardini, also on tat note, do u guys know at wat size the jardini, is gonna wanna tear up the dimis (so i can hurry up and save more money). damn this is a expensive hobby , why didnt i get into stamps or something else. also thanks for saving me from a disaster. slinky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Salita Posted January 17, 2005 Share Posted January 17, 2005 Ultimately the toga will need a 6x2x2 MINIMUM imo. Cant say when any of this carnage will happen if at all. they may live in peace foreva. Dimi's are alot easier and cheaper to purchase than toga's. Perhaps you could trade/sell them untill you get another tank. Just another option for you. All these fish are young, that is why they are working OK atm. When they start to mature is when you will get trouble i reckon. Dont let the dimi's get too hungry in the meantime. Happy Days Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinky Posted January 17, 2005 Author Share Posted January 17, 2005 ive decided to have the jardini in a tank with some large catfish, wat do u folks think about tat, it should work out, shouldnt it. i repeat this a expensive hobby, i started out with guppies in a 2ft now ive got tanks scattered all around the house. slinky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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